


i've got this friend

by CapriciousCrab



Series: bingo 2019 [4]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blind Date, M/M, Moving On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 15:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20799155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapriciousCrab/pseuds/CapriciousCrab
Summary: Jimmy laughs and signals the server over, ready to order a drink or twenty. Anything to make this something other than the moment of utter humiliation that he's expecting. “Well, Phil, I'm pretty sure I'm meant to be your blind date. What are you drinking?”





	i've got this friend

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the PFF Bingo 2019
> 
> prompt: blind date

He moves through the crowds of people scurrying to get out of the spattering rain, dodging elbows and umbrellas with the ease of a longtime Londoner. His long legs eat up the pavement in quick strides as he mentally berates himself while approaching the trendy pub he's meant to be at. Stopping just before the entrance to run his hands through his mass of curly hair, he blows out an exasperated breath.

He doesn't really want to be here. He's not in the mood for a blind date but Mel had blindsided him, ambushing him in the break room while he was rushing to grab a quick cup of coffee between sets. 

“Come on, Jim. You haven't been out in ages! You need to leave that flat for a bit and talk to more than just your radio listeners. I’ve got this friend, and I swear, he's a lovely guy…” she cajoled, gentle fingers tugging at the sleeve of his jumper. 

He'd meant to say no. He had intended to say no and be firm about it. But Mel had looked at him with soft, beseeching eyes and the words just wouldn't come and before he knew it, he found himself agreeing to meet this Phil guy at the Royal Oak.

Cursing himself for a spineless fool, Jimmy walks into the pub and shrugs off his jacket as he makes his way across the room, heading towards the bar. Mel had said that her friend would be waiting there and as he scans the room, he spies a man sitting alone at a hightop table near the windows. His face is turned to look outside and there's something recognizable about it; the curve of his cheek and slightly hooked nose familiar to him as he stops halfway across the room to stare in disbelief.

It's Phil. Phil-fucking-Lester is sitting alone in this pub, waiting for his blind date to arrive and oh, sweet Jesus Christ, _he's_ meant to be that date. For a moment Jimmy wants to bail, to just turn around and head back out the door and pretend like this whole ridiculous situation isn't about to unfold. But his conscience would never let him do that, especially not to one of the nicest guys Jimmy’s ever known, so he moves forward once more until he comes to a stop at the side of the table. He rocks back slightly on his heels and waits for Phil to notice him. 

“Can I buy you a drink, stranger?” Jimmy says playfully. He's determined not to make this any more awkward than it needs to be but he can't help the way his stomach twists with nerves.

Startled out of his quiet contemplation, Phil jumps then turns to him with a sheepish smile plastered on his face. His smile melts into puzzled confusion as he watches Jimmy slide into the seat across from him. 

“Jimmy? What are you doing here?” he asks. 

Jimmy laughs and signals the server over, ready to order a drink or twenty. Anything to make this something other than the moment of utter humiliation that he's expecting. “Well, Phil, I'm pretty sure I'm meant to be your blind date. What are you drinking?”

Phil is staring at him with eyes wide with growing horror so Jimmy addresses the waitress with an awkward smile. He nods toward Phil's nearly empty glass and orders two more. “He'll have another of those, and I'll have the same please.”

He has no idea what Phil's drinking but knowing his infamous sweet tooth it will be something Jimmy will find at least moderately tolerable. He waits until the waitress moves away before digging into the snack bowl for something to crunch on. He's known Phil for years, moving in and out of the same circles as they have, but this? This is something new, and he's annoyed to find himself so incredibly nervous. It’s just Phil.

“Jimmy? W-what? You...?” Phil splutters, his eyes wide and his cheeks pink. “_ You're _ my date?” 

Oh. Well, that stings a bit. 

“Oi! Am I such a goblin then that the thought of dating me is so horrible?” he demands with a forced playfulness. 

He tries to play it off as light-hearted banter but can't help feeling a bit defensive, and it shows in the snap of his words. He shoves a pretzel in his mouth and looks around a bit desperately for the waitress and his drink. He's not sure what he had expected but it certainly wasn't watching Phil fold over the table with a groan, hiding his face in his arms.

“Phil?”

“This is so embarrassing!” Phil says, squeaky voice muffled by his hands. He sits back up and laughs and his face has gone pink again. “Being set up is bad enough but to have it be you?” Phil shakes his head and necks the rest of his drink.

“And what's wrong with me? Christ, Phil, you're giving me a complex here!”

Phil looks at him with an expression he can't name and sighs. “I'm sorry, Jim. Of course there's nothing wrong with you! It's just that you- well, you _know_.”

Phil looks away, and Jimmy can feel his budding irritation drain away. He does know. Everyone knows, and that's the problem, isn't it? It had been big news. Social media had gone crazy, blowing up for weeks until Phil had stepped back to take a break from it all. He remembers now that he'd meant to reach out to Phil back then, to offer his support and even a shoulder. But then his own relationship had fallen apart and he’d been lost to his own misery.

“I wanted to call you,” Jimmy says slowly, staring at the table while his fingers pleated paper bar napkins into nervous folds. “I really meant to, but then things went to shit and well-”.

“I know.”

Phil’s voice is soft and when Jimmy looks up at him, his eyes are filled with the same sympathy he reckons Phil sees reflected back at him. Jimmy stares back, his eyes wandering over the man sitting across the table from him.

Phil's face is thinner now than it was the last time he'd seen him but still just as handsome, with soft smile lines whiskering out from the corners of his eyes. Those bright blue eyes still speak volumes and for a minute he lets himself get lost in them and the comfort he finds there.

The arrival of the waitress breaks the slightly awkward moment, and Jimmy looks away, his heart beating a little faster. Their hands bump when they reach for their drinks as their eyes meet over the table. They stare at each other for a moment then Phil snickers, his hand coming up to cover his laugh.

“You know this is like the beginning of some sitcom, right?” Phil grins. “Old friends getting set up on a blind date after their lives fall apart? That is classic rom-com fare right there.”

“_ They were just two middle-aged mates having a pint. Will they find love _ ?” Jimmy says in the most dramatic announcer voice he can muster. “ _ What will happen next _?” 

“Tune in next week!” Phil finishes, raising his glass in a cheery salute. 

Jimmy taps his glass to Phil’s before gulping half of his drink in nervous swallows, then leans back in his seat. “So what will happen next, Phil?”

He's not sure what Phil thinks about this whole ridiculous situation that they've found themselves in but he does know that he's not ready to go back home to his silent flat, with the bare walls and empty bed. Jimmy doesn’t know how this night will end, but Phil is easy to be with and he finds himself reluctant to go their separate ways and fade once more into a distant type of acquaintance.

Phil looks startled by Jimmy’s frank question. “Oh, uh. Um, I don’t really know, Jimmy. Doesn’t it feel a bit... weird?”

“Well yeah, Phil,” he laughs. “It is a bit strange. But everything lately has been strange.”

He regrets saying it as soon as it leaves his mouth. It’s still too painful to think about how everything has changed and how he needs to move on even though he’s not quite ready. The last thing he wants is to have Phil looking at him with pity. But when he looks across the table he doesn’t see pity there, just that same soft understanding he had seen earlier. 

“Well, why don’t you come back to mine and we can be strange together, yeah? We can order pizza and I’ll kick your ass a bit at Mario Kart.” Phil says before tipping his head back and gulping down the rest of his drink. Setting the glass back down onto the table, he stands and waits for Jimmy to rise.

He's surprised by this more assertive side to Phil, and it takes him a moment to gather his thoughts long enough to give Phil an answer. Jimmy looks up into Phil’s face, so familiar yet not and smiles when he feels long-forgotten butterflies come to life to flutter in his stomach.

“Alright, mate. Let’s go be strange.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> You can like and reblog   
[here](https://capriciouscrab.tumblr.com/post/188002803925/ive-got-this-friend-rating-t-word-count-15k) if you want


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